The fifth-annual community Thanksgiving dinner will be hosted tomorrow and all in El Dorado are invited to attend.
"There's no racial barriers, no denominational barriers. It's just freedom," said organizer Lori Rigdon. "I think that's what means the most to me — there's freedom for us all to come together, no matter our race, religion or socioeconomic status in town. We're all just coming to the table."
Originally conceived of in 2010 by Rigdon, the Thanksgiving meals began in what used to be the parking lot of the Budget Inn motel on Hillsboro. Rigdon and several other volunteers decided to host a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the motel residents; the first few dinners were small.
When the Budget Inn was torn down several years ago, Rigdon wanted to continue the tradition. She continued organizing yearly meals in the lot the Budget Inn previously sat in until 2014, when the first community-wide Thanksgiving meal was held.
"It's grown tremendously every year," Rigdon said. "Different churches, different organizations, Camp Fire groups, businesses — just a complete, community-wide support. It started out small with just a few of us getting together, throwing it out on the table, and now its people from everywhere."
The dinner has grown every year and co-organizer Bob Blackwood said he doesn't expect this year's event to be much different. Last year's dinner had over 200 volunteers from the city's various churches, different businesses and nonprofit organizations, and over 100 diners.
"It just grows and grows more and more every year," Blackwood said. "The first year we probably had 40 or 50 volunteers and now we've probably got 200 volunteers, and we will probably exceed that this year, from the response we're getting."
This year, four additional community Thanksgiving dinners were held yesterday in Hampton, Junction City, Magnolia and Smackover, a goal Rigdon and Blackwood have had for the past several years.
There is no budget that Rigdon and Blackwood draw from for the dinner. It is organized through Facebook (Rigdon calls the online network of support 'Facebook church') and all food is donated. This year, those who attend the dinner will also be offered a coat, Bible and "blessing bag," including a turkey for their own personal Thanksgiving dinners, which were donated for the event.
"We don't have a budget because there's no money spent, there's no money taken in," Blackwood said. "Lori Rigdon puts out the call on Facebook and the community just responds with an outpouring of love."
Rigdon and Blackwood said one of the best parts of the dinner is bringing members of every church in the city together for a good cause.
"It's simply reaching out to people in our community and being a neighbor — loving God and loving others. Everybody's welcome at the table," Rigdon said.
Joyful Spirit, of Junction City, will perform live music during the dinner tomorrow and Cliff Preston will speak from the Bible, Blackwood said. This year's dinner will be held at One Community Church, 701 S. West Avenue (the former location of Immanuel Baptist Church), in the parking lot, starting at 6 p.m.
"Everything really is ready to go," Blackwood said. "The best way to get involved now is to just show up. Everyone's invited. You can come eat, you can come serve; there will be plenty of jobs for people to do for those that are comfortable doing it."
Blackwood said sharing God's love with the community is what pushed him to get involved in the community dinners.
"We just go out and do what God has taught us to do; that's our only purpose. We want to show the love of God and make sure that He gets all the glory for what we're doing," Blackwood said. "It's His event, not ours. It's His feast; it's His love that pours out."
Both Rigdon and Blackwood are very humble about their part in the dinners, giving all the credit to God and the support they receive from the community.
"It's overwhelming to know that God would use just an ordinary person like me to have an idea and throw it out there and watch other people come along and be as passionate about it as I am," Rigdon said. "And to know that God is the one who is ultimately in control and to see how He's provided — it just blows my mind. It's very humbling and I'm honored to be a part of it."
The community Thanksgiving dinner is free to attend and all are welcome. There will also be activities for children during the event. The dinner will be a traditional Thanksgiving meal.
"All people are invited and you won't be sorry you came. You'll be blessed," Blackwood said.